Marauders come up short

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For The Daily Reporter

SHEBLYVILLE — The Mt. Vernon Marauders knew they were in for a tough game after the Shelbyville Golden Bears saw their undefeated season come to an end last Friday.

Even though they looked like the better team for 48 minutes, the Marauders (4-4, 3-3 Hoosier Heritage Conference) fell 30-29 to the Golden Bears (7-1, 5-1 HHC). Being down two touchdowns in the fourth quarter didn’t stop the young Marauders from crawling their way back into the contest and eventually take a short-lived 29-23 lead.

A well-thrown ball by Shelbyville’s John Lux hit Damon Lux in the seam for the final score.

Doug Armstrong was pleased with his player’s effort and noted that it’s more impressive given that his team is mostly sophomores and juniors.

“That was a resilient effort from a lot of sophomores and juniors,” Armstrong remarked. “They’re tough kids that want to win.”

The Marauder offense came out hot scoring twice thanks to two Shelbyville turnovers. Jimmy Campbell punched in a 3-yard score and then found Nathan Seifert in the middle of the field for a 39-yard touchdown pass.

Campbell went down midway through the second quarter with an ankle injury and did not return, and the Marauder attack went very one-dimensional.

“Jimmy will get back from his ankle and we’ll as normal,” Armstrong said. “But a lot of people got some valuable experience tonight.”

Seifert and the rest of the running attack kept the Marauders chugging along but were held largely in check until Seifert broke free for a 56-yard gain and later ground out a 3-yard touchdown run.

Fellow junior Mitch McCarthy also helped shoulder the offensive load chunking the Shelbyville defense for 52 yards in the game.

“We will always rely on Nathan and Mitch, they are two really good football players on both sides of the ball” Armstrong said. “Nathan and Mitch, you can always count on them.”

His score was quickly followed with a 21-yard scamper by Josh Coons who sliced through the defense much like Campbell does.

Moving forward, Armstrong said he doesn’t see his offense changing too much should Coons be relied upon longer.

“Our running game out of spread doesn’t really have to change,” Armstrong explained. “We’ll adjust routes to what he throws best just like we do for Jimmy.”

The Marauders will wrap up the regular season next Friday at home against the Yorktown Tigers, who have beaten the Marauders the past two years.